A 25-year-old man sued the Gretna Police Department Tuesday, alleging his civil rights were violated by a police officer who sicced his canine on him without provocation, leading the dog to bite into his groin area and virtually sever his penis.

The lawsuit stems from an incident in May 2011, when Gretna police went to the apartment of Cody Melancon, 25, to arrest him on charges he kicked in someone’s front door and hit an occupant – charges he refutes. He admits he initially tried to hide in the apartment, he surrendered upon hearing a cop threatened to release the dog inside.

As he knelt on the ceramic tile floor of his living room and locked his fingers behind his head, Melancon said Mekdessie trumped up an altercation and let his dog, Zin, go.

“He started saying, ‘Stop fighting with my dog,’ then he released the dog on me,” Zin went straight for his groin, and instead of commanding the dog to stop, Mekdessie tried to pull the dog away, causing it to bite more.

Slightly Dramatic Image of Police Attack Dog -->

“I was in so much shock and pain,” he said. “I couldn’t do anything. I was just in total shock.”

The attack left him sexually dysfunctional. A doctor has recommended sexual enhancement pills and he faces neurosurgery in hopes of restoring the use of his penis, which was almost completely severed by the police dog’s bites.

“I don’t have any sensation down there,” Melancon said. “I can’t get an erection. I’m 25 years of age.”